PUNE: In a gazette notification dated February 14, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has mentioned that a qualified personnel in MSc in Medical Microbiology/Medical Biochemistry and PhD in relevant subjects such as Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biotechnology etc, are qualified human resources who can perform laboratory tests in their respective branches. However, they cannot offer medical opinion or interpret clinical diagnosis, the notification underlined.
The Association of Clinical Biochemists and Microbiologists (ACBM) applauded this decision.
As per the official notification by MoHFW, qualified personnel from the above mentioned field will be able to perform laboratory tests.
This problem started due to a notification dated May 21, 2018, in which the members of ACBM were not considered for the workforce to authorise and release medical laboratory reports independently.
Speaking to Sakal Times, ACBM National President Ajay Soni said that this decision by the government and MoHFW should be applauded. “We are happy about the decision. It was a long fight to get justice but we have achieved what we wanted,” said Soni.
The MoHFW has also underlined that the medical laboratory reports which contain medical diagnosis(s) and/or a medical opinion based on the test results are to be signed by medically qualified professionals only having qualification duly registered as per Indian Medical Council Act.
